By ED BARKFergie’s over-baked and “sultry” performance of the National Anthem at Sunday’s NBA All-Star game drew everything except star-spangled reviews. She soon acknowledged as much, saying she had “tried my best” but “clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone.”

But really, why mess around? As I previously argued on Twitter, why not just play the very best every year at pro basketball’s annual weekend gathering of the highest and mightiest? That would be Marvin Gaye’s never surpassed 1983 National Anthem at The Forum, which used to be the Los Angeles Lakers’ playground.

Here it is again in all its soul-stirring glory. And if I’m the NBA brain trust, I just put it up every year rather than let others attempt the impossible by trying to match or top it. It simply can’t be done.

Tragically, Gaye was dead a year later, shot and killed by his father. He was a troubled and tormented man, but on this particular occasion, his voice never shone brighter.